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- Star-studded lineup will compete in ‘watershed moment’ for Saudi sport
JEDDAH: Trailblazing English golfer Dame Laura Davies has confirmed her place in next week’s landmark women’s golf events in Saudi Arabia.
A host of other golf stars also cemented their spot in what promises to be a historic occasion on the Jeddah coast.
Four-time major winner Davies will travel to King Abdullah Economic City (KAEC) in pursuit of an 86th professional title in a career that has seen her win the Ladies European Tour Order of Merit seven times and represent Team Europe in 12 different Solheim Cups.
The World Golf Hall Of Famer will have two chances to break her own Tour victory record, with November’s women’s week playing host to two debut events in the space of seven days: The $1 million (SR3.75 million) Aramco Saudi Ladies International presented by Public Investment Fund, and the $500,000 Saudi Ladies Team International.
Davies said: “The Aramco Saudi Ladies International presented by PIF will be quite the watershed moment that allows us to bring the sport we love to a whole new audience in a way that I think blazes a trail for women and sportswomen in and out of Saudi Arabia. The two events we’ll be playing in Saudi Arabia will be of great support to the women’s game and a morale boost to all the players after a stop-start 2020.
“We’re taking women’s golf to a new frontier, both in terms of inspiring new women to give the sport a try and in helping grow the Ladies European Tour event calendar, so it’s a tournament I’m really excited to play in – at what looks like a fabulous golf course.”
FASTFACT
The week’s events are the $1m Aramco Saudi Ladies International and $500,000 Saudi Ladies Team International.
Tournament organizers Golf Saudi Tuesday revealed details of the other superstar golfers to feature in both tournaments.
Some of the headline names include Swedish two-time major winner Anna Nordqvist and her 19-year-old compatriot Julia Engstrom. The latter was named 2018 LET Rookie of the Year and was winner of two events already this year, the Women’s NSW Open in March and the Lacoste Ladies Open de France, which saw her bag a hole-in-one en route to a round of 64.
Anne van Dam of the Netherlands and Wales’ Amy Boulden also feature in the field of more than 100 players, alongside previously announced English pair Georgia Hall and Charley Hull. The field is available to view in full on the Ladies European Tour website.
The events get underway next week, starting with the Aramco Saudi Ladies International presented by PIF, which runs from Nov. 12 to 15. The unique format of the Saudi Ladies Team International will follow on Nov. 17 to 19, where teams of four players will battle for a share of $500,000.
To celebrate the historic nature of both tournaments, Golf Saudi will launch the Ladies First Club next week, which will offer free golf to 1,000 women living in the Kingdom.